Elder Varun’s POV

I arrived before dawn. The chamber walls held the cold like a warning. Of the twelve summoned, only six Alphas answered. The others were scattered, fallen in battle, gone dark, or worse, aligned elsewhere. We lit the candle flame out of duty. It sparked briefly, then died in silence.

Alpha Drev questioned the purpose of the gathering, his tone sharp. Sora answered, measured and final, if we stopped meeting, the Accord died entirely. Drev replied it already had. I stood ...